Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to devices for installing and supporting building components and, more particularly, to a spacer and support apparatus for supporting roof and floor trusses on the top plate of a wall or other structure.
2. Description of the Invention Background
A truss is a rigid framework of wooden, metal or plastic beams designed to support a structure, such as a roof. Trusses may also be employed to span between opposing support walls to create a floor supporting structure within a building. A truss system for supporting a floor may comprise a collection of trusses that are arranged adjacent to each other and span the distance between two or more support walls. Local building codes generally govern the amount of spacing permitted between each truss. When anchored to the support walls, the tops of the trusses are substantially co-planar with each other to enable floor decking materials to be attached thereto.
Roof trusses may be provided in a variety of different shapes and sizes depending upon the building design. Although some roof truss systems provide a plurality of planar, horizontally disposed, support surfaces for buildings with flat roof systems, many buildings have roofs that have planar portions that are not horizontally disposed. For example, many residential buildings have peaked roofs wherein the roof surface comprises a pair of angled planes that intersect to form the roof crown or peak. Flat sheathing material is attached to the trusses to form a planar roof surface and roofing material is then affixed to the sheathing. Trusses may be fabricated on site from appropriate material such as wood, metal, etc. However, it is common practice for trusses to be fabricated off-site by an entity that specializes in the fabrication of such building components. The prefabricated trusses are then shipped to the building site and anchored in place to the support structures. Such support structures may comprise concrete block walls, metal or wood stud walls, etc.
A truss typically includes a bottom member commonly referred to as the xe2x80x9cbottom chordxe2x80x9d. The bottom chord is the member that is supported on and anchored to the top of the support walls. Trusses typically also include two or more top chords that are attached to the bottom chord. In a typical xe2x80x9cpeak roofxe2x80x9d truss, two top chord members are each attached to one end of the bottom chord and angle upward at a desired pitch. The other ends of each top chord are connected together to form the roof peak. A portion of each top chord may extend beyond the bottom chord to form a desired amount of overhangs that extend beyond the support walls. Similarly, in other truss arrangements, the bottom chord may extend beyond the support walls in a cantilevered fashion. A variety of braces or web members extend between the top chords and the bottom chord to provide the roof with a desired load capacity.
Trusses are commonly installed by standing the bottom chords of the trusses on edge on the support structures (walls) such that they span between the walls. The ends of the bottom chords are then anchored to the support walls by screws, nails, or other appropriate anchors. A plurality of trusses is arranged in a side-to side configuration along the tops of the support walls. Often, a truss has a greater height dimension than a width direction. Thus, prior to attaching the sheathing materials, a truss that is supported only at its bottom by its attachment to supporting walls can be prone to topple over on its side. Such toppling over of even one truss can result in all of the trusses falling over similar to a row of dominos which can cause injury to construction personnel and damage the trusses and other building components.
A variety of clips and attachment devices have been developed for attaching trusses to top-plates of structure walls. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,173. to Commins, U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,052 to Nelson, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,469 disclose such devices. Those devices are typically difficult to manufacture and install. Many of such devices are only suited for use in connection with wood top plates and are ill-suited for use in connection with metal trusses and metal top plates. Some of such devices also require the contractor to measure and locate each one so that the trusses are attached to the top plate in a desired spacing arrangement.
Thus, there is a need for a support header for attaching a truss to the top plate of a wall or other structure that is relatively easy to manufacture and install.
Yet another need exists for a support header that may be effectively used with trusses and wall structures that are made from wood or metal or a combination of wood and metal.
Still another need exists for a support header that can be used to support and attach a variety of different structural components regardless of the type of material from which they are constructed to a variety of different wall structures and the like.
Another need exists for a support header that has a plurality of integrally formed tabs that are spaced at predetermined intervals such that trusses may be quickly attached thereto at desired spacing arrangements without separately measuring the distance between each truss during installation.
Still another need exists for a support header or top plate for supporting trusses that is constructed to distribute loads to adjacent studs when a truss does not align with a stud.
In accordance with one form of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for supporting a building component on a structure. The apparatus includes a header that has a planar top portion, a first leg protruding from the planar top portion, and, a second leg protruding from the planar top portion. The second leg is spaced from the first leg. The apparatus further includes at least one building component connection tab that comprises a portion of the planar top portion. Each connection tab protrudes from the top portion opposite from the first and second legs to form an opening through the top portion. The apparatus is placed over the top plate or similar portion of a structure and is attached thereto with appropriate fasteners. Building components such as roof trusses, floor trusses, etc. are then fastened to corresponding attachment tabs by appropriate fasteners.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a support header/load transfer device for building components such as trusses and the like that is easy to manufacture and install.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide a support header that may be effectively used with building components and structures that are made from wood or metal or a combination of wood and metal.
Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide a support header with the above-mentioned characteristics that can be used to support and attach a variety of different structural components regardless of the type of material from which they are constructed to a variety of different wall structures and the like.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a support header/load transfer device that has a plurality of integrally formed tabs that are spaced at predetermined intervals such that trusses may be quickly attached thereto at desired spacing arrangements without separately measuring the distance between each truss during installation.
Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide a top plate for supporting trusses and distributing loads when one or more trusses do not align with the studs in the walls upon which they are supported.
Accordingly, the present invention provides solutions to the shortcomings of prior truss spacer devices and braces. The subject invention is easy to manufacture and install. The subject invention may be used to affix a plurality of trusses to a portion of a structure. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate, however, that these and other details, features and advantages will become further apparent as the following detailed description of the embodiments proceeds.